A Stroke of Genius

Coinciding with Darwin year—celebrating the publication of the acclaimed naturalist's seminal text On The Origin of Species—A Stroke of Genius is a dark comedy that journeys into the past of eugenics and looks to a future world of "designer babies."

Based on the true story of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank—to which women flocked to choose a donor from its roster of the greatest scientists, inventors and thinkers of the period—A Stroke of Genius tells the story of rural librarian Dora Blake who decides she wants a child genius of her own. She plots to blackmail a famous national hero on his upcoming book tour – but first she’ll need to seduce a young scientist to help her with the finer points of sperm donation and genetic manipulation.

Using projected animation, puppetry, a newly composed score and about fifty cardboard boxes, A Stroke of Genius—produced by the award-winning company PIT—promises to be a thought-provoking and highly entertaining piece of theatre.